Inner Storm
by kiss-me-i-am-irish07
Summary: Zutara - Zuko rescues a confused Katara from a thunderstorm. Katara experiences flashbacks of her and Zuko and is forced to deal with the deep emotions tied to them. Has Zuko truely become good? And how can he prove himself to Katara?  for ZutaraWeek2010


_{This story was originally written as my day seven submission of Zutara Week 2010. I also drew a picture to go with the days prompt which can be found on my deviantART account.}_

_.com/art/ZW10-D7-Inner-Storm-Picture-173574680_

**Inner Storm **

Written by ~kiss-me-i-am-irish07

-Zutara-

"Did he really think that I would - I mean, _we_ would believe him? _'I could teach the Avatar firebending'_ What the hell was that? He's crazy if he thought I would fall for that. Argh! WE! If he thought _we_ would fall for that." Katara mentally kicked herself as her body slowed her running to a walking pace. She kicked a small rock as she recalled.

Zuko had shown up at the Southern Air Temple earlier that day and approached her and the group with a very odd suggestion. He offered to teach Aang firebending. Katara was so furious that he even had the guts to appear after what he had done to her. She slapped him with water and told his soaked form to leave and never come back.

Katara followed the path the rock had taken and kicked it again.

Once Zuko had left, Katara left camp for a long walk to clear her mind. The evening was young but she still grew tired. She knew that she would have to head back soon.

Katara raised her head to the sky as a booming noise came from the heavens. Still absorbing the sound, a cold wind blew through the trees and sent a shiver down Katara's back as it grazed her neck. She hugged her torso in a feeble attempt to warm her shivering body. A blinding light flashed through the sky and was promptly followed by a loud boom. The sky rolled with the crashing booms which were getting louder and louder. Soon, a few rain drops splashed onto Katara's cheeks awakening her from her zombie-like state. The rain quickly picked up speed as the splashes turned into hits and beats upon Katara's head.

She was quickly getting soaked and she knew she had to get back to camp fast. Katara willed her legs to start moving and she quickly picked up speed and began running through the muddy forest towards the camp. Suddenly, Katara saw a flash. It wasn't lightning. She was certain. Katara stood still and tried to place the flash. _Fire._ It reminded her of fire. She was quickly roused from her thought by a snapping twig. Katara whipped her head around but found nothing. Although no visible entity had been seen, Katara still had a bad feeling. _What if it's Zuko?_ Katara tried to shake the idea out of her head but she could not. Another snap was heard and at this, Katara started running.

How could she have been so stupid! Coming out here alone? Especially when Zuko was out here. He'll probably kidnap me and try to trap Aang. Oh, I knew we couldn't trust him!

Katara heard a rustle in the leaves as the rain began beating even harder upon her head. Katara kept running but she began thinking of an unusual idea. _What if Zuko really has changed? What if he truly wants to help Aang defeat his father and end the war? Maybe he is noble. Maybe what he said in the catacombs was the truth?_

A loud thud and snap alerted Katara and made her turn back to look at who was behind her as she began to run faster. Suddenly Katara's toes got caught on a tree root and caused her head to be sent into a neighbouring root and her body into the mud.

It all went black.

* * *

"This is water from the spirit oasis. It has special healing properties. I could try to heal it"

"It's a scar. It can't be healed."

Katara reached up and touched his scar. His eyes slowly reopened and showed her a world of pain, confusion and sadness. Katara stared into his eyes. Captivated by those fiery orbs, she only came to when she sensed the warm touch of his hand on top of hers. Zuko gently lifted her hand down from his scar and held it with both of his hands. He let out a sigh and looked into her confused eyes. "It's alright if you can't heal me." Zuko solemnly lowered Katara's hand along with his head and quietly sat down by the wall of crystal. Katara paused a moment but then walked over to where Zuko sat. She sat down across from him and was quiet for a minute or two. She finally decided what she was going to do.

Katara reached her hand out towards Zuko's lowered face and being so gentle, she brushed his hair away from his face revealing the marred flesh. "At least let me try." Zuko briefly opened his eyes and looked at her. He slowly nodded. "Alright." He closed his eyes again but raised his head so that Katara had easy access to the scar. Katara took the cap off the bottle and gracefully bent the sacred water out to surround her hand. The water immediately began to glow. Katara placed the glowing liquid onto Zuko's scar as she closed her eyes and genuinely hoped that he would be healed.

After a minute, Katara began to pull the water away as she opened her eyes and - splash! Astonished by the perfect skin on Zuko's left cheek, Katara had lost all control and focus on the water. Zuko didn't open his eyes but replied to the splash in a monotone voice. "Thank you Katara for trying but it would not be possibly for me to be freed of my ...!" Zuko's eyes flew open after recognizing that his hand had fallen on perfect skin on the left side of his face.

Zuko's eyes began to well up in joy. He turned around and looked at his perfect face in one of the crystals. "You... you did it!" He said as he turned back to his healer. Katara was still in shock partly because of her amazing healing abilities but mostly in awe of what was in front of her.

She had always fantasizes about a kind Zuko who was free of his scar but even with him sitting before her, she still couldn't believe it. Katara's cheeks turned slightly pink as she saw this handsome man before her.

Zuko's tears had already streamed down his smooth cheeks as he sat with a relieved smile on his face. "Thank you." he whispered as he drew her into an unexpected hug. Katara was caught off guard at first but after a second or two of the loving embrace, she hugged him back. Zuko slowly began to pull back but with both parties being resistant, they stopped when they were mere inches between their noses.

The two were locked in a gaze. Zuko cautiously began to lean his head slowly towards hers. Katara didn't know what to do. Should she kiss him? or pull away? Before she could think about it anymore, Zuko's warm lips joined hers and made her stomach jump. Katara and Zuko melted into the kiss which was sadly ended when Zuko pulled back. Leaning their foreheads together, Zuko spoke. "Thank you." he said with an innocent smile on his face. Katara's mouth quickly formed a smile as she answered "You're welcome." The two rejoined in a second kiss as they melted into each other's embrace.

* * *

"Whu!" Katara sat up, startled from the strange dream she just experienced. With her eyes darting everywhere, she found herself within a shelter made of red fabric. As she gained more consciousness, Katara realized that she was lying on a make-shift bed with a fire, tea set and a bowl of soup at her side. As she tried to stand, she realized she was now in different clothes; if you could call it that. Katara now had a light fabric wrapped around her body which reached to the floor. She still had her white wrappings on beneath this blue dress but she was surprised to see her regular clothes dried and folded up at the foot of the bed. Katara turned her head out of the opening of the shelter to find it still raining hard. What a storm. A moving figure grabbed Katara's attention as it approached the doorway. Quickly, Katara sat down on the other side of the tent as the shadow revealed itself. Zuko.

"I see you are up." he said in a defeated tone. "I uh... found you knocked out in the forest so I brought you here." Zuko scratched at the back of his neck as he continued, a slight blush coming to his face. "I... uh... well... I dried your clothes, made you tea and a meal. You can head back to camp after the storm is over." Zuko, still avoiding direct eye contact got up and started to walk towards the door. "Oh, I forgot," Zuko returned and knelt before Katara as he pulled something from his pocket. "Once I had brought you back I saw you didn't have it so I went back to where you had fallen to get it. It was really dirty from being buried in the mud but I did my best to clean it up." Zuko placed Katara's necklace right in front of her as he walked to the door for a second time. "I'll come back once the storm is over." With that, Zuko slipped out and left Katara in an emotional mess.

Katara looked down at her mother's necklace and reached for it with her hand. She picked it up and began stroking the beautifully polished pendent that was still warm from his touch. _Why? Why does he care? Why did Zuko help me? He could have just left me in the mud in the middle of the dark forest. Why did he decide to save me from the storm?_ Katara asked these questions hoping for a reply but there was no answer.

She looked down once again to her necklace which was gripped in her hand. _He said he went back for it. Why would he go to the trouble to go find it for me? Wait, how did he even figure out it was missing? Was he observing me?_ Katara shivered. She didn't know if she shivered because of the thought that Zuko had been so attentive of every little detail about her or if it was just the blue linen which was lacking in warmth. She hugged herself and began to close her eyes.

Katara's head snapped up and her eyes flew open. _Did he __change__ ME! Dear Tui!_ Katara's hand lay on her cheek as her face turned flaming red. Katara felt as if she was getting warmer. _Thank La he left my wrappings on._ Katara physically hit her forehead trying to redirect her mind. That was the last place she wanted it to go.

Another boom came from the storm outside and caused Katara's attention to be brought to it. She looked out into the dark surroundings. It was hard to make everything out but she could see the trees of the forest which surrounded the clearing, some pools of water where the ground was lower and one other shadow. It was dark and Katara had a hard time guessing what it was until a bolt of lightning lit up the sky for a fraction of a second. It was Zuko.

Katara looked on as she saw Zuko's form draw in towards his chest. _Poor Zuko,_ Katara thought, _Why is he sitting out in the rain?_ Before she knew it, her mouth was moving and she was speaking. "Why are you out in the storm, Zuko?" A jolt came from the surprised creature as he tried to respond quickly. "Oh! Well, I... I didn't want... I... I didn't think you would have wanted to be around me so I was staying out here so I wasn't annoying you."

Katara felt a little tug at her heart. _Oh Zuko._ "Zuko, would you please come back in?" Zuko's head turned again towards the tent. "Are you sure?" "Of course I'm sure! Get in here before you catch a cold." Katara watched as the drenched figure slowly stood up and walked back to the entrance of the tent.

Zuko came in and sat down across from Katara on the side with the bed she had woke up in. They were silent for a minute as Zuko stared into the fire and Katara battled with the ideas swirling in her mind.

All of a sudden, a nipping wind blew into the tent and caused Katara to shiver. Katara instinctively wrapped her hands around her body as Zuko spoke. "Are you cold?" he asked in a concerned voice. Katara paused to think and nodded as she quietly responded "A little bit." "Come over here." he said gently as he reached behind him and fumbled with something. Katara cautiously got up and walked over to where Zuko sit. "Come sit down on the bed." he said gently. Katara sat down and looked at him. Zuko took no notice of her puzzled stare and continued to place a warm blanket around her bare shoulders. "There." he said as he finished wrapping her in the tan blanket. "That's better." he said as he cracked a smile.

His warm gaze held Katara's eyes for a short while until he looked down at her hands. They were shaking. Zuko gently scooped her hands up into his which caused Katara to allow a gasp to escape her mouth. Zuko looked up into Katara's surprised eyes and back down to her hands. He saw her necklace still intertwined in her hand. He looked back once again to Katara and warmly whispered "May I?" She didn't respond out of udder shock of what was happening. Zuko gently took the necklace from her hand and brought it to her neck. He leaned in closer to her as he looked at the back where he fastened the necklace. He sat back like a sculptor admiring his work. He gently reached out and laid two fingers on the pendent. Katara closed her eyes as she felt the pendent grow warmer under his touch. Zuko's eyes were still fixed on the emblem. Without knowing it, his thoughts escaped his lips. "It's beautiful. It really suits you." Zuko pulled back his hand as his gaze looked back to the ground. Katara opened her eyes and found Zuko turned towards the fire with his scared side facing her. "You should get some sleep." Zuko's voice was soothing to her senses. Katara nodded. "Alright." she said as she lay down.

* * *

_Still in the catacombs:  
_  
"I thought you had changed!" Katara yelled at Zuko as she blocked his attacks. "I have changed." Zuko yelled back to her as he sent a burning flame towards her. The heat grew closer and more intense. She struggled as she felt the fire begin to burn her. "NOOOO!"

* * *

Katara screamed as she jolted up in the make-shift bed. Katara cupped her hands around her face and began to cry. "Katara! Are you okay?" She felt Zuko's arms coming closer, trying to calm her jittery body. Her hands dropped as she nudged slightly away from Zuko's outstretched arms. He could now see her tears freely flowing down her beautiful face. "I don't know! I'm so confused!" Katara wiped some of the tears from her eyes but they were only to be replaced with new ones. "Who are you Zuko?" she cried as she fell into his chest. Zuko instinctively wrapped his around her as he heard her talk again. This time in a softer voice.

"Why? Why did you turn against me in the catacombs? Why did you abandon me?" Katara nuzzled further into his chest and clenched his shirt as if she was holding on for dear life. Zuko sighed as he laid his head on hers. _There is a storm ragging inside of you but do not worry, I am here with you._

"Katara..." he softly whispered as he lifted her head to reveal a tear stained face. "I will never abandon you again." He wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb. Zuko looked into Katara's eyes. "I promise." he said as he leaned down and joined his lips with hers.

When their lips parted a warm and loving gaze connected them. "I promise." Zuko whispered again. Katara just nodded and lay down again. Zuko tilted his head and looked at her. Katara reached her arms out towards him like a newborn baby wanting to be held. "Zuko," she said with a smile on her face, "Keep me warm." Zuko chuckled. "What? Is the blanket not good enough?" Katara giggled. "No." They both grinned as Zuko lay next to her. Their arms snaked around one another and Zuko pulled Katara closer and kissed her. He smiled as their lips parted. "What?" Katara questioned. "Stupid blankets can't even do their job right." He grinned. Katara laughed at his comment and they dove into another warm kiss.

Little did they know, the once fierce storm that had been ragging outside, had now ended.


End file.
